Warming Up

It has been a week since my last journal writing. It has warmed up and I have been going crazy with the jobs that need to be done. One of the first projects to get started was the new screen door. The old door had rotted out in only a few years. When I was in Florida I acquired enough Cyprus wood to make up this replacement. It is currently painted and waiting for the hinges to go through a stripper bath to remove the old paint. Hopefully I’ll have it finished up this weekend.

There is a short window of opportunity to do the serious trimming back on the shrubs and bushes before the new growth starts. It was a major undertaking working on the huge overgrown sasanqua bush. The Camellias are still blooming; I have another month or so before I have to worry about cutting them back. This weekend I’ll be tackling the holly hedges which are totally out of control. The hollies along the front sidewalk are going to get a major cut back. They are all bare on the bottom with bushy growth on top. Hopefully a good trimming will shock new growth all over.

My Stumpy was supposed to be helping with these chores. But, he got wrapped up in soaking up the warm sunshine in one of his favourite corners of the yard.

The old dead growth had to be cut off the mums, lantana and other perennials. The ground has been pretty soft so the weeds and vines are coming out fairly easily. The dirt in some of the beds was turned over with “zoo poo” worked in. After the spell of cold, it is heaven to be able to work outside in comfort.

To take my mind off the rotten economy I’ve been getting to the “Y” five days a week in the morning. This is such a good escape from the house for me. They have Concept Two Rowers which I have been “erging’ on. Once I stretch out my goal is to get 15-20 minutes in. I try to vary the pressure to simulate the drills we do on the water. Going from 17-19 strokes to the high twenties really gets your heart rate going! Then I do some cardio on the Cybex machines, some free weights, and return to the Concept Two for another round of erging.

All is not work. I’ve been able to get out on the river quite a bit with the rowing club. Last Friday was the first time this year we rowed without having to be bundled up against the cold. We had enough people on hand at 3:30 p.m. to take out an 8. It was a great workout with “seasoned” rowers. (Well as seasoned as we can call ourselves!) It was the most rowing I’d ever done on the river at a stretch. We always head east on the river to start. The full moon was visible in the late afternoon sky. Then we turned the boat to head back to the dock. The sunset was nothing short of glorious; a brilliant riot of orange as the sun descended in the west.

This picture was taken some time ago when it was still cold. We were in the process of turning the boat around to return to the dock. Being so close to the water puts such a perspective on things.

Once home I fixed a quick supper and luxuriated in a hot shower. Needless to say I enjoyed a deep sleep that night.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my old working partner Mel! I had not seen him in over 15 years. He took a company buy-out back in the early 1990s when he only had 15 years seniority and moved to Florida. He has worked many different jobs since that time and is currently driving a huge van around doing delivery. He happened to be on I-59 headed to Texas. I’m not far off the interstate so he stopped in for a quick visit. It was funny as I just did up an entry concerning our working together a short while back.

We had a good visit before he had to head back to the interstate. Talking about the old times at the plant reinforces to me how much my life has changed since moving south. There is no way I would enjoy my current quality of life had I remained in my hometown.